1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a tap or plug which dispenses gas into trees or other vegetation, e.g., to stimulate the production of sap so that it may be collected for subsequent use or for any other purpose.
2. Description of Related Art
It is desirable to collect the sap of certain types of trees or, possibly, other types of vegetation so that the sap may then be processed. One type of sap commonly considered useful is latex, i.e. the sap of the "spurge" family of trees, which may be coagulated and dried or chemically altered to produce rubber of desired characteristics. Another type of sap commonly considered useful is that from maple trees, which can be processed into syrup, sugar and candy, for example. Taps which are commonly used to provide access to and collect the sap from these types of trees are simply tubes which do not in any way augment the flow of sap and provide no control over the rate of flow of the sap. Other circumstances exist in which it is desirable to introduce into a plant system a material in a gaseous form.